First Baptist Church Chelsea, 500 N. Fourth St., was built in 1873. (Courtesy photos)

“There will be special music, a special sermon, and a repast after the morning worship. We’re inviting former members and the family of former members to come,” said Dr. Holloway.

Among friends and family at the celebration will be Pastor Henderson Frazier of Brownsville Community Baptist Church in Brownsville, Tenn. Rev. Frazier will be the afternoon speaker.

Rev. Dr. Justin R. Holloway

First Baptist Chelsea – like the neighborhood where it resides – is a mixture of old and new.  Recently, the worship area and sanctuary underwent a $250,000 remodeling.  The 150-member congregation provided 70 percent of the funding for the interior restructuring.  The money, said Rev. Holloway, came from tithes and offerings:  “I pride myself on being a good administrator.”

Since the church, which was built in 1873, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the pastor said, the exterior of the monumental church with its gothic design and high steeple could not be changed.  

Pastor Holloway said members built the church on land in the Chelsea subdivision with donated lumber. Now known as Uptown, the surrounding community was then known as Bear Water and located outside Memphis city limits.  

With the city’s recent Uptown neighborhood revitalization project, the area has undergone a great transformation.

“There was poverty – rundown homes and Hurt Village,” said Rev. Holloway, who became church pastor five years ago. “I’ve seen a transformation along a period of years.  The community is diverse and we have to have diverse worship that meets the needs of the people in the community.”

First Baptist Church Chelsea members built the church on land in the Chelsea subdivision with donated lumber. Now known as Uptown, the surrounding community was then known as Bearwater and located outside Memphis city limits.

The worship area and sanctuary at First Baptist recently underwent a $250,000 remodeling.  The 150-member congregation provided 70 percent of the funding for the interior restructuring.

A 1968 graduate of Northside High School, Rev. Holloway has been preaching 25 years. He and his wife, Ruby Holloway, have two daughters – Natasha, a teacher, and Doneisha, age 15.

Rev. Holloway earned an undergraduate degree from Crichton College, a master’s degree from Memphis Theological Seminary, and his doctorate from Andersonville Theological Seminary in Camilla, Ga. A board member of Memphis District Association, he previously served as associate pastor at Keel Avenue Baptist Church until called to assist Dr. Lee Brown, now deceased, at Springdale Baptist Church.  

“It was my task to go and get people to come and join the church.  I had to be a salesman,” said Rev. Holloway.

There are a number of other churches in the area and each has “rich history and rich heritage,” said Rev. Holloway. First Baptist Church Chelsea serves its diverse community by working in partnership with other churches of various denominations in the area and the Bridges youth program and by supporting nearby St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Located across the street from Bridges USA, the church offers a dance ministry for young people. Dr. Holloway said that Bridges keeps them abreast of what’s happening with young people and they keep them abreast on the spiritual level.  

He said the community still has pockets of poverty and the church addresses the needs of new residents and those in the community who never left.

Community leaders, politicians and area residents have been invited to Sunday’s 135th anniversary celebration.  Rev. Holloway quipped that they’re doing it in a “big way” since he doesn’t expect to be here for the 150th anniversary.  

For more information on the celebration, call First Baptist Church Chelsea at (901) 527-4940.